Violent People

VP2010s: The Names You Should Know

Dan Rice
Latest posts by Dan Rice (see all)

Let’s get this out of the way: Sam designated the week of November 10th-16th as VP2010s Week here at Violent People. We’ve already seen fantastic contributions from both Sam and Chris. Naturally here I am as the third “founder” posting my contribution—albeit a week late. It’s a bit surprising for me to miss a deadline, as I typically stick to my schedule, as evidenced by the weekly Rotten Rewatches you see posted here. Hopefully it is worth the wait.

I didn’t want my post to be identical to Sam’s, so I’m organizing mine by year. I aim to highlight one or two overlooked wrestlers from each year of the 2010s that might be under your radar.

2010

Steve Corino is a personal favorite of mine. He’s an act that holds up on ECW rewatching and his importance in the early years of Ring of Honor is often underrated. Many thought his best years were behind him, in 2010, but the Steen/Generico feud reignited a fire in him that had almost died out. 

Katsumi Usuda’s technical style stands out even in BattlARTS. He remains an unsung figure in shoot-style wrestling. In 2010, he fought hard to stay relevant, showcasing his technical mastery while battling time and injuries. 

2011

Mike Quackenbush and CHIKARA in general is overlooked and dismissed too much. Quack has been canceled, and even when he wasn’t was at best an arrogant goof, but the man can wrestle. He has a hell of a 2011 in tags and six mans. He is the second guy in the famous High Noon match, but it takes two to tango.

Sami Callihan: I love to shit on Sam and his love of Callihan as much as the next guy, but at one point Sami was one of the best in the world and the king of the indies when that still kinda sorta meant something.

2012: Fit Finlay

Few comebacks hit as hard as Fit Finlay. Returning to the indie scene for the first time in a decade, Finlay brought years of experience and a brawling style that stood out. In his short time on the indies he handed out some brutal beatings.

  • Fit Finlay vs. Tajiri (02/19/12, SMASH)
  • Fit Finlay vs. Sami Callihan (04/13/12, EVOLVE)
  • Fit Finlay vs. Jon Davis (05/11/12, EVOLVE)
  • Fit Finlay vs. Davey Richards (07/21/12, AAW)

2013: William Regal

IF you couldn’t already tell I’m not a big proponent of quantity. If you’re in a few amazing matches throughout the year that is enough for me. This pick embodies that the most. William Regal represented wrestling mastery in 2013. He was in less than a dozen televised matches. Despite limited in-ring appearances he put on two classics, against Hero and Cesaro.

2014: Every Participant in En Busca de un Idolo

This is probably cherating but, who cares? CMLL’s En Busca de un Idolo tournament goal was to showcase young and underutilized wrestlers and it more than succeeded. Maybe one of the best tournament lineups ever and that’s coming from a certified tournament expert.

The Participants:

  • Barbaro Cavernario
  • Cachorro
  • Dragon Lee
  • El Soberano Jr.
  • Guerrero Negro Jr.
  • Hechicero
  • Star Jr.
  • Super Halcon Jr.

Notable matches, but seriously you can’t go wrong with any of them:

2015: Low-Ki

I’m not sure 2015 is Low-Ki’s best year of the decade. He rules every year honestly. But 2015 does feature the Rey match, a rare dream match that more than lives up to the hype.

2016: Trauma I

Trauma I and his brother Trauma II, are still a staple of the Mexican indie scene. This year sticks as the Truama I singles year. He had multiple amazing singles matches and a match of the decade contender against Canis Lupus. If you’re only going to watch one match Irecokmmend in this article make it the apuestas match from IWRG. Its beautiful and stomach churning at the same time.

2017: Josh Barnett

Josh Barnett has had the same formula his whole pro wrestling career. Wrestle a few times a year at most, mostly against other shooty dudes and look like a killer everytime.

2018: Slim J

Slim J… YARD CALL

2019: Colin Delaney and Yuki Ishikawa

Colin Delaney: is all over the indie circuit this decade. He never has the spotlight, but he always works his ass off and puts on great matches. He’s a glue guy, a swiss army knife, whatever cliche you want to use. The indies would be a much worse place without him. 

  • Colin Delaney & Cheech vs. Bobby Beverly & Eric Ryan (03/08/19, AIW)
  • Colin Delaney & Cheech vs. Nasty Russ, T-Money, Eddy Only, Derek Director, Marino Tenaglia & Philly Collins (04/04/19, AIW)
  • Colin Delaney & Cheech vs. Bestia 666 & Damian 666 (04/26/19, AIW)
  • Colin Delaney & Cheech vs. Philly Collins & Marino Tenaglia (09/20/19, AIW)

Yuki Ishikawa has never taken a year completely off as far as I know, but 2019 felt like the year he truly “returned.”

That’s 20 guys you need to find a place for on your list. The deadline is 12/01 vote or die.

dan-r


Co-host of Talking Tourneys and Violent People Radio, all around violent person.

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